


Goodnight, Lucina

by EvilOfEden



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Lucina can't say no, cuddling ensues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3346958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilOfEden/pseuds/EvilOfEden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Yes! I had a bad dream! A nightmare, even!” Cynthia took a deep breath, as if about to detail the horrors that woke her from her slumber, but she dropped her voice to a whisper instead. “Can I sleep in your tent tonight?”</p>
<p>Lucina lets her little sister spend the night in her tent during a snowstorm. Everyone else kind of invites themselves in...will Lucina ever get any sleep?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodnight, Lucina

It was not the first time Lucina had faced the cold. There had been many nights spent in Regna Ferox, and many more winters spent on the run from Grima’s wrath. But it was the first snow encountered with her father and the rest of his army, in a time when blankets were readily available and shelter easy to find. Frederick had even knit everyone scarves, and as part of the royal family, Lucina had also received a pair of mittens. Blue, just like her hair, just like her father’s.

Such kindness made her wistful, Lucina thought as she laid the extra blankets out in her tent, but she had to be sure not to lower her guard. They were still in a war, after all. She’d been through enough midnight ambushes in the future. Hence why a few hours later, once darkness had fallen, she awoke from her light slumber as she heard footsteps crunching through the snow outside her tent. She reached for Falchion as she peeked through the flaps.

“Lucy!” It was just her sister Cynthia, wrapped in her own blankets and with her hair down for once. “And here I was worried I’d wake you up!”

Lucina resisted remaking that she had. “Is something the matter?”

“Yes! I had a bad dream! A nightmare, even!” Cynthia took a deep breath, as if about to detail the horrors that woke her from her slumber, but she dropped her voice to a whisper instead. “Can I sleep in your tent tonight?”

Lucina couldn’t help but smile. It was a habit Cynthia had never outgrown, even after their mother passed and Lucina had stopped mentioning her own nightmares to anyone. “Of course you may. You know my tent is always open to you.”

“Awesome! You’re the best, sis!” Cynthia ducked into the tent and immediately flopped on the ground next to her sister. “Is it just me, or does even the snow seem brighter in the past? Have you ever noticed that?”

Lucina shook her head that no, she hadn’t. She told Cynthia goodnight before the girl could keep going; otherwise, they’d be up the entire night, and sleep-deprived marches and fights were dangerous ones indeed. So they closed their eyes, but just as Lucina felt herself drifting off…

Owain shoved his head into the tent without ceremony. “Hail, bravest of kin! Hearing rumor of the nightmares gripping your souls, I have trudged for miles through the tundra to bring respite to you once more!”

Lucina opened her bleary eyes, trying her best not to glare at her cousin. “Excuse me? Owain, what in the world are you talking about?”

He blinked as if surprised that his speech wasn’t clear enough. “Well, uh, I noticed Cynthia’s tent was empty, and that usually only happens when she has a nightmare and comes to you, so…” He shook his head and returned to his voice of bravado. “Will you allow these intrepid heroes into your halls this night, fairest warrior-maidens?”

Before Lucina could ask why her cousin was suddenly speaking in plurals, Cynthia had giggled and asked them to go ahead and enter, please! Owain did just that, dragging Brady behind him. Brady caught Lucina’s confused gaze and sputtered, “Owain said he needed a priest real urgent. Something about expelling the demons of nightmares or some malarkey, an’ I told him I don’t do exorcisms, but he listened about as well as a turnip.”

“Insult not the noble turnip,” Owain ordered as he sat next to Cynthia. The younger princess sat up and giggled against his shoulder, which only prompted Owain into a speech about how particularly noble said vegetable was. Brady and Lucina cast exasperated glances at each other before the older princess sighed and handed one of her extra blankets over. She had more than enough, she told herself; traders had been through earlier, and Lucina had used her spare funds to stock up, just in case no other chances arrived.

Just as Owain was finally winding down, and Lucina could see sleep on the horizon, another head as pale as the snow outside poked through the flaps. “H-hey guys. I got lost on the way back to the tent…and it’s really cold outside…”

Lucina bit back a sigh. “Yes Noire, you may warm up in here until you’re ready to find your tent. I’m sure Owain and Brady can escort you once they leave.” 

The not-so-subtle hint flew over the others’ heads as they welcomed their “newest comrade” into their fold. Noire kneeled next to Lucina, attempting to stay out of the way of Owain’s sword-hand as he acted out another story. Brady had already been accidentally slapped in one story already, hence why he now held his staff between himself and the storyteller.

Lucina started a mental count in her head. One, two, three…

“Lucina! Noire snuck out again and now I can’t find her—” Severa, just as expected, paused her shouting as she realized who else was in the princess’s tent. “Noire! What the hell are you doing here?”

“I got lost,” Noire muttered, staring at the floor and twisting her fingers together. “E-everything looks so different in the snow…and it’s so cold…”

Severa sighed as if told she had to go clear out a hundred Risen camps on her own. “Whatever. I’ll sit here ‘til you warm up, and then I’ll walk you back.”

Lucina mouthed a silent thank-you to Severa as she passed to sit next to Noire; Severa rolled her eyes but flashed a thumbs-up anyway. The princess then shut her eyes and tried to find a cadence in Owain’s storytelling that she could fall asleep to. It was faint, but just discernable enough that maybe, just maybe…

“What’s everyone hiding in here for? Is something coming after us?”

Before Lucina could explain the increasingly complicated situation, Yarne bounded into the tent and ducked into the back. Meaning, since Lucina was the only one lying down, he was right behind her head. She looked up with a sterner glance than she meant, because Yarne stammered, “Y’know, safety in numbers and all that! And who knows what’s in the snow. There could be bears! Wolves! Bear-wolves with the sharpest teeth!...I’ll just hide out with you guys until they’re gone.”

“Yarne. Bear-wolves don’t exist.”

“Because everyone who’s run into one has died, of course!” Yarne curled up with his head pressed against the floor and said no more on the subject. He shivered, likely out of fear, but in case it was from cold, Lucina removed yet another blanket and laid it on top of the taguel. With him safely out of sight, the storytelling resumed. With the way Cynthia was laughing, they could only hope that all nightmares were out of sight, out of mind.

This time, Lucina did not try to fall asleep. She knew the tent flap was about to open again. She could sense it. So when another head poked in, Lucina immediately answered, “Yes, you can come in and warm up. There’s space in the corner. Don’t be disturbed if that blanket squeaks, that’s just Yarne under it.”

Laurent removed his fogged-up spectacles. “I was simply passing through on my last patrol. I thank you for the hospitality, but—”

“But you should totally come in and join us!” Cynthia piped up, a mix between excited and suddenly worried. “I overheard—you were alone for five years before the rest of us arrived! We need to make up for all that time! Besides, it’s nice and comfy in here! We’ve got a lot of blankets, and Lucina’s so warm, she’s like a living fire tome!”

If Laurent was concerned by the revealed eavesdropping, it didn’t show on his face. He considered the company with a long hum. “…I will consider it. Do allow me to finish my rounds first.”Without another word, he was gone into the howling winds. With the weather so strong, Lucina couldn’t help but wonder how the mage kept his oversized hat from flying off his head.

The princess tried to figure out how long everyone had been in her tent. At least an hour, by this point, a bit less for the newer arrivals. Surely, everyone was warm by now. Should she kick them out? Her tent was one of the larger ones, true, but there were still seven people inside it, with a possible eighth on the way. And yet…Lucina couldn’t find it in her heart to order everyone back into the snow. Especially with the way Cynthia was smiling, her bad dreams hopefully forgotten.

Lucina bit back another sigh and sat up, blankets wrapped tightly around her. The future exalt had to put others before herself, sisters and unexpected visitors included. Lucina picked a spot in the back between Noire and Yarne, the latter of which was starting to poke his head out from under his blanket as Owain reached the gripping climax of his latest tale. Literally—his sword-hand was holding Brady’s staff aloft and proclaiming it to be a mighty sword pulled from a stone. What an imagination.

Outside, something clunked. The sound was loud enough to rattle Owain from his story, while Yarne yelped and his back under the covers. Brady took the opportunity to snatch his staff back and use it to open the tent flap.

“Just checking in,” Kjelle said, armor clanking again as she brushed more snow off. “Laurent told me everyone was gathering here. …Are you sure that’s smart?”

“It’s only for a little bit,” Lucina claimed, even though she knew how long Owain could prattle on, and that Noire and Severa were already leaning against each other half-asleep.

Kjelle considered this with a furrowed brow. Then with a huff, she inched her way into the tent, trying not to knock anything over. The others scuttled to the furthest reaches of the tent, and even Lucina fell backwards into Yarne. “Kjelle, what in Naga’s name are you doing?”

“Standing guard,” she said simply as she settled next to the tent flap. She didn’t remove her armor, though at least she shook most of the snow off before coming in. The rest of the group was now sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, save for Yarne, who readjusted himself to being curled up between Noire and Lucina. And Nah, who was…wait.

“Nah?” Lucina looked down at the manakete, who had somehow appeared in her lap with her own pile of blankets. “When did you get here?”

“I saw there was a sleepover, and invited myself. I snuck in behind Kjelle.” Nah snuggled up against Lucina. “I’m sure you don’t mind, right? I don’t take up much room, after all.”

“I thought you’d noticed,” Kjelle added from the entryway. “She wasn’t exactly subtle.”

Lucina closed her eyes and counted to ten. Which happened to be the amount of people in the tent if Laurent agreed to join them. The most people she usually had in her tent was four, and that was only when her parents and Cynthia were all visiting. How had it come to this? How had—

“Excuse me! Coming through! Kjelle, do get that spear out of my face!” Oh gods, there was Inigo rushing in, ducking under Kjelle’s extended spear and diving to the corner occupied by Owain and Brady. He was so fast and dramatically frightened, Lucina would’ve mistaken it for Yarne were the taguel not currently curled up next to her. “Oh, it was horrible! I was just about to kiss the fairest maiden in the nearby village, when her father found out and began to chase me! I swear, he was half wolf! No, half bear Both! And he had snowshoes! I barely escaped with my life intact…”

“Your dignity, on the other hand…” Severa muttered from the opposite side of the tent, pulling Noire closer as if to protect the archer from Inigo’s womanizing ways. Yarne muttered something about “I warned you guys about wolf-bears” from the floor. And Kjelle was chewing Inigo out about potentially bringing danger to the tent, even though surely no villager in snowshoes would be a match for her.

Cynthia leaned over the cowering taguel to grin at her sister. “I can’t remember the last time we had such an exciting party! In fact, I don’t think we have ever!”

“This wasn’t meant to be a party,” Lucina wanted to say, but she bit her tongue and nodded instead. She wiggled out of a few more blankets and offered them to those without—Inigo in particular was thankful, and Owain went into a whole speech about “This glorious tapestry of ages, this gift of warmth and survival!” The only one who refused was Kjelle, claiming her armor was warm enough, but she did accept a scarf. As speeches and stories gave way to yawns, Lucina thought that maybe, just maybe, sleep would finally come.

CRUNCH.

Something heavy—something huge—landed just outside the tent, followed by a burst of wind so strong that it broke through the tent flap. Half of the party, Lucina included, reached for their nearest weapons, while others held their blankets up to them like shields. Kjelle was about to sound a battle-cry, when a gloved hand covered her mouth. 

“Shush!” ordered Laurent, “It’s just Minerva.”

“Minerva?” Lucina crept forward (after dislodging Nah from her nest on Lucina’s lap) and poked her head outside. Indeed, there was no mistaking that black-scaled wyvern and the masked rider climbing off of her. And was that Morgan behind Laurent? “What’s going on?”

“Well, the reason given for inviting me was to be social after a long time apart from others,” Laurent explained, clutching his hat to his head as the wind tried to bluster it off. “Following that logic, it made sense to invite Gerome and Morgan, considering Gerome’s distant tendencies, and Morgan’s missing memories.”

“And Minerva likes to sleep around whichever tent I’m sleeping in.” Gerome poked his head into the tent and immediately backed away. “I…did not realize the tent was so full. I will not intrude—”

“No! Laurent’s right, you all should come in! We’ll make room!” Cynthia hopped up (still clutching her blankets) and grabbed Gerome’s arm, dragging him inside and promptly falling over. The two crashed into Owain and Brady, with Inigo flailing away in his attempt to avoid the cataclysm. Morgan ignored the chaos and strode into the tent with that giant grin of his, plopping in the first spot he could fit into (which happened to be between Yarne and Cynthia). 

The last member, Laurent, was reluctant until room was made by Severa pulling Noire into her lap and saying “You might as well sit down, since there happens to be room right there.” If Lucina didn’t know better, the two girls were blushing, though she somehow doubted Laurent was the cause.

Lucina did a quick mental head-count. As if to confirm her conclusion, Cynthia piped up, “Looks like the whole gang’s back together again! It’s been ages since we’ve all done this!”

“We used to have sleepovers like this?” Morgan asked as Lucina handed him a blanket from her rapidly-dwindling supply.

“Uh-huh! Back when it snowed, or just when the nights got cold, we’d all snuggle together in order to keep warm!...Though it wasn’t often that all thirteen of us were in one place.” Cynthia huddled into her blanket with a sad smile. “That’s…what my nightmare was about, actually. We were in the woods, and it was freezing, but everyone had to leave one by one until I was alone, with no idea where anyone was. And then…”

She didn’t have to finish. Risen, bandits, even Grimleal, all had likely chased her in her dreams. Everyone in the tent had similar dreams before, some more often than others. It had even, on occasion, been reality. Knowing that was why Lucina had allowed her sister to stop by in the first place—because she was brave enough to turn to someone for help.

But she also had a point, Lucina thought as she examined her cold and tired visitors. In the worst of times, they had banded together, and the camaraderie made those long nights just a little more bearable. Even now, in a situation far safer than anything in the past few years had been, it was a comfort. That was the real reason why Lucina couldn’t bear to make anyone leave the tent, no matter how crowded it was.

So she broke the silence Cynthia’s nightmare had left and said, “The reality is, after all we’ve faced, we’re still here and together again. And I, for one, am overjoyed by our good fortune.” She smiled even as she closed her eyes. “We still have a long day tomorrow, and I for one believe we should get some rest. But all of you are more than welcome to stay, if you wish. Just…keep the volume down, if you don’t mind?”

There were agreements, which lapsed into yawns, which lapsed into silences broken by the occasional snore. Even Minerva was quiet, though Gerome had to tell the wyvern not to shove her face into the tent. Lucina wasn’t sure how long it took her to sleep again—just that before she did, she muttered, “Goodnight, Cynthia.” The pause was so long, the princess was sure her sister had already drifted off. She closed her eyes.

“Goodnight, Lucina. And…thank you.”

When Lucina finally did fall asleep, it was with a smile on her face.


End file.
